List of contents

• Settlers home page
• A brief history of Grahamstown
• Notes on Wedderburn Settlers
• Mandela's speech re-dedication of the 1820 Grahamstown Settlers Monument, 1996
• A history of the Wedderburn name  
• The LINKS page
• Back to Wedderburn family home page
• SITE MAP Easy navigation around the pages. 

GRW Introduction

GRW Chapter 1

GRW Chapter 2

GRW Chapter 3

GRW Chapter 4

GRW Chapter 5

GRW Chapter 7

CHAPTER SIX

The war dragged on and it was not until the end of 1852 when, upon the arrival of Sir George Cathcart – who superseded Sir Harry Smith who had been recalled as Governor – with the assistance of Colonel Napier, swept the rebels out of their fastnesses in the Winterberg and Amatotas and drove them out of the Colony across the Kei and, by this means, brought to a close the most devastating wars that the settlement had ever incurred and, the loss to the settlers was tremendous, added to which the homesteads were burnt, in most cases, and the improvements on the various farms destroyed and a large proportion of the stock killed or stolen.

Our widowed Grandmother, who was only thirty years of age at that time, returned to old Lindale with her young family of one son and four daughters, her youngest daughter, Emma Louisa, having been born during their stay in Grahamstown some two months or so after the tragedy of Grandfather. In addition to her family, she had with her our Great Grandmother, who was 74 years of age and also Aunt Crouch with her three boys. Fortunately, the houses had not been burnt down, only slightly destroyed, so that she was able to occupy the old home. The wagon house, which Grandfather had erected next to the barn and stable, was intact. The cattle kraals were destroyed and various other things removed so the work of reconstruction had to be tackled and this Grandmother did, with the help of Cousin Chris Wedderburn (William and Martha Patrick’s son), who was then a young man. It was he who built the extension to the old homestead and several other portions of the farm buildings, such as the milk room and pig sty, etc. Several of the old servants returned to the farm and were re-engaged for the several duties of the farm. Notably, old Klaas Bleskop, Grandfather’s faithful old herd who had guarded the cattle at Seven Fountains under old Mr William Emslie and returned with the most of them, only a few having been stolen at various raids on the laager there.

It was a huge responsibility for our young widowed Grandmother to undertake, but she was equal to the work of reconditioning the damage done during the war, so that, in two or three years, she not only paid her way, but was able to add considerably to the stock on the farm which, at that time, was the principle source of revenue, added to which, owing to a succession of good seasons, good crops of wheat, mealies and oats or forage were raised and there was always a ready sale for the produce in Grahamstown. And so the years passed by until 1856, when the old home was, once again, darkened by the shadow of death – our aged Great Grandmother, now in her 79th year, was called away to her Heavenly Father’s home on 14 July 1856 and laid to rest, beside her beloved husband, in the Salem cemetery. She was very much respected and loved by a large number of friends and relatives and was a faithful follower of her Saviour and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. G. Hepburn, Wesleyan Minister in the New Chapel, which had only recently been opened.

Grandmother now had full control of Lindale and, with the aid of Father, who was, at this time, 13 years of age and able to assist his mother in doing the outside work, i.e. the field work, things made rapid strides with the farming operations. Large lands were brought under cultivation and heavy crops reaped and the cattle did splendidly and thus, each year following, Grandmother prospered and Lindale was considered one of the best and most prosperous farms in the district and so we must pass on to the year 1861, when Grandmother married Mr Philip Amm on the 20th March of that year. This brought about a great change in the management and control of the farm and Father, then 18 years of age, who had practically carried the greater part of the farming operations during the last three years, found it impossible to carry on under the direction of his step-father, decided to go out on his own account and left the old home shortly after. Grandmother felt the wrench of her only son leaving after his faithful service and, as a result, she left Lindale to take up her residence in Grahamstown in 1863.

Uncle Philip Amm Jnr. rented Lindale after this and Father occupied a small portion of it as, at this time, transport riding began to be a very profitable occupation and he decided to go in for this together with Uncle Simon Amm who, at that time, was at Lovedale Institution for his education under the tuition of the late Dr Stewart and, two years after this partnership had been in progress, Father married my Mother, Charlotte Gush Amm, a sister of Uncle Simon’s, in Commemoration Chapel, Grahamstown,
on 15 August 1865. The officiating minister was the Rev. Thomas Guard, a very noted and brilliant preacher. Uncle Simon Amm and Aunt Esther Wedderburn were in attendance as Best Man and Bridesmaid and signed the marriage register.

Father had, at this time, rented a portion of Spring Valley near Seven Fountains and it was there he took his young bride, who was 18 years and six months of age and made their first home. They occupied only a portion of the house, the larger part being rented by Uncle Richard Amm and Aunt Garney, his wife who, however, at a later date, left spring Valley and trekked over to Newing Green near the Kariega.  Father and Mother, after their departure, occupied the large house at Spring Valley and remained there until the early part of 1870.

Towards the end of 1865, after Father and Mother’s marriage, Grandmother, with the family, returned to Lindale but, just before this, Aunt Libby – Grandmother’s eldest daughter, was married to Uncle William T. J. Attwell, who afterwards became Capt. Attwell, well known in the Eastern Province for the active part he took in the Kaffir Wars of 1877-8 and Basuto War of 1880. Aunt Libby had spent several years with her grandparents on her mother’s side – Grandpa and Grandma Croft – and was married from their house, “Cannon House” in Beaufort Street, Grahamstown.

After Grandmother’s return to Lindale, the farming operations were again resumed but on a smaller scale and the next item of importance was the marriage of Aunt Ester Ann – Grandmother’s second daughter – to Uncle Thomas Frederick Berrington on 16 April 1866 in Salem Chapel, the officiating minister being the Rev. John Smith. Uncle Frederick was the son of the late Mr Thos. Berrington of Sidbury Park.

The next event in Grandmother’s family that might be recorded was the marriage of her youngest daughter, Aunt Emma Louisa, to Uncle Timothy William Lake on 22 March 1871, also in Salem Chapel. The officiating minister was the Rev. T. Cresswell.

It may be mentioned here that another important event, which must be recorded here, although it happened two months subsequent to Grandmother’s death, was the marriage of her third daughter, Margaret Quail, to Uncle George James Hill, of the farm “Providence” near Salem, by the Rev. T. Cresswell on 22 May 1873.

We now pass on to the year 1873 when the old home at Lindale, which our beloved Grandmother had presided over with such auspicious ability for over thirty years, was to part with its mistress for, during the early part of February of that year, she became ill and it was decided to remove her to Grahamstown to the house of her sister, Clarissa Hill, who had inherited the old Croft home after her father’s death, i.e. Cannon House in Beaufort Street. Here Grandmother remained under the medical attendance of the late Dr. James Williamson and it seemed as if she might recover, so splendidly did she bear up against the malady but, a relapse on the 1st March brought about the end and, on the morning of the 2nd March, 1873, her pure and beautiful spirit winged its flight from the earthly casket to take up its above in the Heavenly Home on high. Grandmother was a woman with the most lovable disposition, kindly and affectionate to her children and grandchildren, generous to the poor, who always found in her a sympathetic response to their needs. A devout Christian and faithful adherent of the Wesleyan Church in Salem, of which she was an accredited member for thirty-two years. Passionately fond of flowers and gardening; how well I remember being with her, as a little boy, and accompanying her of an afternoon up to the grand old garden at Lindale, in the far corner of which, near the spring, she had her beautiful flower garden. Her dear body was laid to rest next to Grandfather, in the Wesleyan Cemetary, Grahamstown and, on the stone erected to her memory, the simple inscription: “Sacred to the Memory of Mary Amm, wife of Philip Amm and relict of the late George Wedderburn who died March 2nd, 1873.  Aged 52 years.”